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Commentary

September is Attendance Awareness Month for schools throughout the country. As we kick off the 2016-2017 school year, Dupree School District asks parents and families to put forth their best effort to ensure the attendance of students to promote academic and social growth of each young person. Attendance is one of the South Dakota’s school performance indicators. One of the factors causing the Dupree School to be placed on FOCUS status by the South Dakota Department of Education is because Dupree’s student attendance has latitude for improvement.

The City of Timber Lake does not operate a landfill. It does operate a Restricted Use Site under a general permit from the State of South Dakota (Note: restricted). After two visits (June 9 and July 28) the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources has judged conditions at the site to be “conditionally acceptable” which means action is required to get back into full compliance.

Across South Dakota, a new school year is getting underway. Students and families are getting back into the school day routine, reestablishing study habits and juggling activities. In order to succeed in school, students are often reminded to listen to their teachers, complete homework assignments on time and cooperate with their classmates. There is another simple practice we sometimes overlook that is absolutely critical: consistent school attendance. It seems obvious, but the importance of attendance cannot be overstated.

I got the mail today. A couple of bills. A greeting card. Some catalogs. A newspaper. One package that my wife grabbed right away. (Wonder what that was?) Lately, it occurs to me how completely I take for granted that I will get the mail tomorrow. I’ve had my share of gripes about the mail. As president of the National Newspaper Association, I have fielded our community newspaper members’ postal concerns all year. The mail is slower than it used to be.

Even though I consider myself a fairly ambitious person, sometimes the motivation required to achieve my goals is lacking. It is easy to become discouraged and lose traction when chasing our dreams or to get distracted, especially in today’s “microwavesociety,” a world where instant gratification seems to be preferred. I have to believe this is true for everyone.

The law enforcement agreement between the City of Timber Lake and Dewey County is working to the benefit of the public and should be continued. When the mayor and finance officer met with the county commissioners last week to discuss whether to renew the three-year agreement that expires in December, everyone seemed satisfied with how it’s working. Mayor Clyde Pfeifle said he had no complaints and that the city has a very good working relationship with the law enforcement officers.

Over the past several years, South Dakota has seen a rise in the use of methamphetamine, or meth. In our state, 3.8 percent of high school students have tried meth. That is slightly higher than the national average of 3 percent. Approximately 15,000 South Dakotans, age 12 and up, were dependent on or abused illicit drugs in 2015, including meth. Meth is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant which affects the central nervous system and results in devastating side effects. It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder and can be ingested in a variety of ways. No matter what you call it, or how it’s used, the effects are all the same.

It’s all the rage and a cutting-edge craze – sweeping not only the nation, but the entire world. If you don’t have an inkling of understanding about what the verve is all about, chances are you’re aware of the buzz about Pokémon Go. And, if you’re like me, you wish you had the foresight to invest in the Nintendo Company a couple of months ago. Pokémon Go is a new game played on mobile devices. On July 12, less than a week after it was first released, the app became the most active mobile game in the United States ever with 21 million users. This thing is bigger than Candy Crush Saga.

It’s almost almost rally time in South Dakota. What started in 1938 as a single motorcycle race in a small town has grown into one of the largest and best-known motorcycle gatherings in the world. This year is the 76th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and though we don’t expect the numbers will approach the levels we saw last year, the rally is sure to be well-attended. Motorcycle enthusiasts won’t just be visiting Sturgis. They will be traveling all around the Black Hills – staying in our local hotels and at our campgrounds, eating in our local restaurants, shopping in our local stores and refueling at our gas stations.